I noticed the woman when I entered the newsroom. My secretary told me she wanted to put an ad to   36   a baby. So I suggested several    37  lines for these ads to her:   38  , Baby to love; or Dear Birth Mother, Let Us Help You. The ad would contain   39   about her and her husband: they were   40  , could afford to raise a child. But then something   41   me: the major newspapers carried ads like this and their  42   were larger than ours. “Have you tried the major ones?” I asked. “Yes, but all failed and one more wouldn’t   43  .” She handed me a check and left with a   44   smile.

   A week later the woman called in a    45   of delight: “Please don’t run the ad again. We ’ve connected with   46  . The baby is due in a month.” Good news. I asked her if she   47   keep in touch if the adoption   48   to have a happy ending. She agreed but added when the adoption was final she was   49    to give me the story.

   One day my phone rang. I   50   her voice immediately. “The adoption is final. Would you like to come and meet him?” Happily, I made a (an )  51  with her for the next day. “His name is Ben,” she said, as I started to take                   52  . “He slept through the night from the start. Now he’s smiling and starting to turn over. Of course I’m not   53   him. If he is a little slow.” She paused. “ Oh, I should tell you Ben has Down’s Syndrome.(唐氏综合症)” I stopped writing . I wasn’t sure how to   54  . But she smiled “Ben was meant for us, don’t you see? He needs me more than a   55   developing child would.” She sat on the sofa, holding her son. Both of them smiled. “You wanted a story with a happy ending,” said the woman “ You got it.”

1.A. afford         B. affect           C. adopt            D. adapt

2.A. ordinary       B. standard         C. effective        D. ridiculous

3.A. Wanted         B. To Want      C. Wanting      D. Want

4.A. address        B. data             C. picture          D. information

5.A. rich           B. stable           C. considerate      D. lonely

6.A. occurred to    B. turned to        C. referred to      D. wrote to

7.A. titles             B. circulations     C. names            D. columns

8.A. kill           B. work             C. hurt             D. do

9.A. warm       B. weird            C. weak             D. wild

10.A. spirit        B. tone             C. way              D. sound

11.A. a birth mother B. a lovely baby   C. an ad company    D. an orphanage

12.A. might         B. should           C. would            D. dared

13.A. turned over   B. turned up        C. turned out       D. turned down

14.A. safe          B. comfortable      C. brave            D. honest

15.A. classified    B. identified       C. picked           D. recognized

16.A. look          B. appointment C. appearance  D. call

17.A. pains         B. pictures             C. clues            D. notes

18.A. rushing       B. speeding         C. pressing         D. running

19.A. reply         B. react            C. restore          D. release

20.A. steadily      B. gradually        C. normally         D. regularly

I started winning competitions. We still had very little money -- my father had to borrow $5,000 to pay for a trip to the International Young Pianists Competition in Ettlingen, Germany, in 1994, when I was 12. I realized later how much pressure he was under. Tears streamed down his face when it was announced that I'd won -- earning enough money to pay back our loan.

It was soo n clear I couldn't stay in China forever. To become a world-class musician, I had to play on the world's big stages. So in 1997, my father and I moved again, this time to Philadelphia, so I could attend The Curtis Institute of Music. Finally our money worries were easing. The school paid for an apartment and even lent me a Steinway（斯坦威钢琴）.At night, I would sneak into the living room just to touch the keys.

Now that I was in America, I spent two years practicing, and by 1999 I had worked hard enough for fortune to take over. The Chicago Symphony orchestra heard me play and liked me, but orchestra schedules were set far in advance. I thought I might join them in a few years.

The next morning, I got a call. The great pianist Andre Watts, who was to play the "Gala Benefit Evening" at Chicago's Ravinia Festival, had become ill. I was asked to replace him. That performance was, for me, the moment. After violinist Isaac Stern introduced me, I played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. My father's mouth hung open throughout the entire song.

I played until 3:30 a.m. I felt something happening. Sure enough, it was a great success. Still, my father kept telling me, "You'd better practice!" But living in America with me was beginning to relax him. In Beijing I'd been fat -- he made sure I ate -- and he'd been skinny. Now I was getting thin. He wasn't.

My father and I had often practiced a piece called "Horses," a fun version for piano and erhu. One night in Carnegie Hall, after I played Chopin and Liszt, I brought Dad out on the stage, and we played our duet（二重奏）. People went crazy -- they loved it. My father couldn't sleep for days. He was too happy to sleep.

There have been lots of concerts in Carnegie Hall, but for me playing there was especially sweet when I remember the cold days in Beijing. Together, my father and I worked to reach the lucky place where fortune spots you, and lets you shine.

In the first paragraph his father cried when it was announced that he'd won mainly because__________.

A.his father was excited that his son succeeded at last.

B.his father was under too much pressure.

C.they could pay back the loan with the prize.

D.his father was proud of him.

Tell the order of the events.

a. He and his father moved to Philadelphia.

b. He was asked to replace the great pianist Andre Watts.

c. He and his father played “Horses” together.

d.The Chicago Symphony orchestra heard his performance.

e. The Curtis Institute of Music lent him a Steinway

A. a, e, c, b, d       B. b, e, a, d, c       C. d, a, e, b, c       D. a, e, d, b, c

Which of the following statements agrees with the author?

A. The writer’s father had been very fat before they went to America.

B. The writer thought he would be one of them soon when he knew the Chicago Symphony orchestra heard him play and liked him.

C. The Curtis Institute of Music finally eased their money worries.

D. One can achieve his dream if he is lucky enough.

The underlined word there in the last paragraph refers to_________.

A. America     B. Beijing.   C. Carnegie Hall  D. All the places he went to. 

What is the best title of the passage?

A. I Took Off!                          B. When Fortune Spots Me.

C. No Pain, No Gain.                    D. My father and I

--Could I speak to Mr Brown? 

-- ______ , I'1l go and see if he is in.

Silence is unnatural to man．He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness．In between he does all he can to make a noise in the world, and he fears silence more than anything else．Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence．If he is introduced to another person, and a number of pauses occur in the conversation, he regards himself as a failure, a worthless person, and is full of envy of the emptiest headed chatterbox （喋喋不休的人）．He knows that ninety-nine percent of human conversation means no more than the buzzing of a fly, but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure （蜡塑人像）．

         The aim of conversation is not, for the most part, to communicate ideas; it is to keep up the buzzing sound．There are, it must be admitted, different qualities of buzz; there is even a buzz that is as annoying as the continuous noise made by a mosquito （蚊子）．But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito than a quiet person．Most buzzing, fortunately, is pleasant to the ear, and some of it is pleasant even to the mind．He would be a foolish man if he waited until he had a wise thought to take part in the buzzing -with his neighbors．

         Those who hate to pick up the weather as a conversational opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish 1:0 talk．Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new．Some of them are content ．if they are merely allowed to go on making a noise into other people's ears, though they have nothing to tell them except that they have seen two or three new, plays or that they had food in a Swiss hotel．At the end of an evening during which they have said nothing meaningful for a long time, they just prove themselves to be successful conservationists．

1.According to the author, people make conversation to              .

         A．exchange ideas              B．prove their value

         C．achieve success m life          D．overcome their fear of silence

2.By "the buzzing of a fly" （Para．1）, the author means"_____".

         A．the noise of an insect                 B．a low whispering sound

         C．meaningless talks                  D．the voice of a chatterbox

3.According to the passage, people usually talk to their neighbors___     ．

         A．about whatever they have prepared                       

         B．about whatever they want to

         C．in the hope of learning something new

         D．in the hope of getting on well

4.What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?

         A．To discuss why people like talking about weather．

         B．To encourage people to join in conversations．

         C．To persuade people to stop making noises．

         D．To explain why people keep talking．

I noticed the woman when I entered the newsroom. My secretary told me she wanted to put an ad to   36  a baby. So I suggested several    37 lines for these ads to her:   38 , Baby to love; or Dear Birth Mother, Let Us Help You. The ad would contain   39  about her and her husband: they were   40 , could afford to raise a child. But then something   41  me: the major newspapers carried ads like this and their  42  were larger than ours. “Have you tried the major ones?” I asked. “Yes, but all failed and one more wouldn’t   43 .” She handed me a check and left with a   44  smile.
A week later the woman called in a    45  of delight: “Please don’t run the ad again. We ’ve connected with   46 . The baby is due in a month.” Good news. I asked her if she   47  keep in touch if the adoption   48  to have a happy ending. She agreed but added when the adoption was final she was   49   to give me the story.
One day my phone rang. I   50  her voice immediately. “The adoption is final. Would you like to come and meet him?” Happily, I made a (an )  51  with her for the next day. “His name is Ben,” she said, as I started to take                  52 . “He slept through the night from the start. Now he’s smiling and starting to turn over. Of course I’m not   53  him. If he is a little slow.” She paused. “ Oh, I should tell you Ben has Down’s Syndrome.(唐氏综合症)” I stopped writing . I wasn’t sure how to   54 . But she smiled “Ben was meant for us, don’t you see? He needs me more than a   55  developing child would.” She sat on the sofa, holding her son. Both of them smiled. “You wanted a story with a happy ending,” said the woman “ You got it.”